Academic Resources

Language Placement

Language placement testing helps ensure that students enroll in the language course that best matches their current level of proficiency. This page provides information about placement requirements, testing options, FAQs and next steps.

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Do You Need to Take a Foreign Language Placement Test?

YES! if…

you wish to continue in a foreign language with which you have some experience (even if you have already filled the language requirement with another language).
you have AP or CLEP credit in the language that you wish to continue studying.
Register

NO! if…

you are beginning a new language with which you have no experience.
you are a student in the Center for Adult Learning (CAL).
you are a transfer student transferring three or more semester hours of foreign language credit.
you are a non-native speaker of English who has taken the NYU 12 Point Test and has received 6 or more points.

Free Elective Policy for World Languages: See the “FAQs” section.

Incoming First-Year students should take the Foreign Language Placement Test by June 15. Incoming Transfer students should take the test as soon as possible. Students accepted for the Spring semester should complete the test before registering for classes.

If you are still uncertain, click here for further explanation or contact us.

If you need to take a Foreign Language Placement Test

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Register for a Test

We offer placement tests in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Latin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish

Students who have experience with the following languages should contact an instructor to determine proper placement: American Sign Language and Japanese

Complete the following survey and you will see instructions either to access a test or to contact an appropriate instructor for placement:

Current Students Only – Language Placement Survey*

*Incoming Freshmen should not use this link — instead log into your Admissions Portal for access to the survey.

All students should take the test within two weeks of registering for it.

If you are still uncertain, click here for further explanation , graduation requirements , or contact us.

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Already Registered?

If you know you have registered for the test, please check your email for a confirmation message with further instructions.

After you take the test, to view your placement results, go to NEST.

Open your Degree Audit, and select the “Test Scores” link near the top of the page. If it has been entered, your language placement level will appear as a score from 1-5.

Free Elective Policy for World Languages: See FAQs.

The Foreign Language Placement Test must be completed prior to Summer Orientation and Registration for the fall semester. Students accepted for the spring semester should complete the test before registering for classes.

If you are still uncertain, click here for further explanation or contact us.

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Review Results

You should have seen your score and placement after you finished the test, but it will also be entered in NEST. It can take up to seven (7) business days after you take the test for your results to be available in NEST.

To view your placement results, go to NEST.

Open your Degree Audit, and select the “Test Scores” link near the top of the page. If it has been entered, your language placement level will appear as a “score” from 1-5.

Free Elective Policy for World Languages: See FAQs.

If you are still uncertain, click here for further explanation or contact us.

Language Placement Explained

Nearly all undergraduate Montclair students must take the Foreign Language Placement Test.

Students who have already had high school or college level instruction in a foreign language must take the Foreign Placement Test before registering for any additional courses in that language.

Transfer students transferring fewer than six semester hours of foreign language credits from another institution can continue in the next language sequence course. However, we recommend taking the Foreign Language Placement Test to ensure placement at the appropriate level.

Students can use their native language to fulfill degree requirements by taking New York University’s 12 Point Test in his/her language. This test can be scheduled by calling 212-998-7030 or by visiting the NYU 12 Point Test website. Only the NYU 12 Point Test is accepted at Montclair. The testing fee is paid by the student directly to New York University. If all 12 points are awarded by NYU, six points will be used to fulfill the six semester-hour foreign language graduation requirement and the remaining six points are awarded as six semester-hours of transfer credit (free electives.)

NOTE: This test is only appropriate and recommended for International Students, students educated abroad, and students that are native speakers of a language other than English.

Students in the Center for Adult Learning (CAL) are not required to take the Foreign Language Placement Test, but must still fulfill the Foreign Language Graduation Requirement. See the Language Graduation Requirements details.

It is possible to complete the Foreign Language Requirement through Montclair State University’s Summer Study Abroad Institutes. For more information, visit the Study Abroad website.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I take the test?

If you will be starting at Montclair State in the fall, you should take the test before your Summer Orientation so that you will have the information ready when you register for classes. If you will be starting in the spring, you should take it as soon as you can after you have been accepted.

I don’t remember anything about the language I took in high school. Can’t I just take 101?

If you graduated from high school less than five years ago, then you cannot simply start the language over again. We do understand your concern, but the language departments try to keep the 101 classes for the true beginners, who have no experience with the language. With that in mind, and since most of our students have had some experience but may not have studied the language for a few years, the second-semester language courses begin with an extensive review of 101. If, during the first week of classes, you and the instructor agree that it is beyond what you can handle, you may ask permission from the language coordinator or department chair for your language to move down a level.

When should I take the test?

I speak another language fluently. Should I take the CLEP?

We do not generally recommend the CLEP test, because University policy states that, even if you receive the full possible credit on the CLEP, you still need to take one more course here. The only test we accept for full credit to fill the World Language Requirement is the NYU 12 Point Test.

What is the Free Elective Policy?

Students who wish to take the language courses listed below as free electives must follow the placement policies stipulated under the Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Requirements (see online catalog links to World Languages and Cultures Requirement and to Language Placement Testing) and must meet the eligibility requirements indicated in the course descriptions. Students who have personal or academic experience with any of these languages must take the placement exam. Students may not take these language courses out of sequence, nor may they take more than one of them in the same language simultaneously.

AMSL 101-202;

ARAB 101, 112, 121, 132;

CHIN 101-202;

FREN 101-132;

GERM 101, 112, 121, 132;